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18 May 2017

Thistle and Rose for Queen Elizabeth

John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom joined the Duke of Kent this morning at Buckingham Palace to present new colours to the 1st Battalion and and F Company Scots Guards -- and it appears that she may have brought a new brooch along with her!

John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Here's a (slightly blurry) close-up of the brooch. The colorful piece features at least two major design elements: a thistle (appropriate for a Scots Guards occasion) and a Tudor rose. Some of the brooch is obscured by the lapel of the Queen's coat, but the piece also appears to feature leaf designs along with the two flowers.

John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images

I've done quite a lot of digging this morning, but I can't seem to recall a similar brooch in the Queen's collection. (Or, for that matter, in the collections of the Queen Mother or Queen Mary.) Do we have a new Tudor Thistle Brooch on our hands? If you know otherwise, please let us know in the comments below!

MARTYN HAYHOW/AFP/Getty Images

UPDATE: Thanks to Gill for pointing us toward a previous appearance of the brooch! The piece was worn in April 2002 when the Queen presented new colours to the Scots Guards at Windsor Castle.